Hope
by luvscharlie
Summary: Ginny Weasley has found herself on the receiving end of the Carrows' version of discipline. Draco/Ginny


_Hope_ by Luvscharlie

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A/N: Takes place during Deathly Hallows and Draco's 7

_th__ year at Hogwarts._

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Draco paced back and forth in the Room of Requirement as Lavender Brown and the Patil twins went over her, whispering back and forth things he could not hear. His patience was stretched to the limit. "Well?" he asked. "Is she okay?"

The three girls turned and glared at him as the slight form of Ginny Weasley lying in the bed began to stir. "She's coming round," said Parvati.

"Who's going to stay with her?" asked Padma. "They'll notice we're gone if we don't show up to class. I'd rather not be on the receiving end of the Carrows' version of detention."

"I'll stay," Draco said. "They won't come looking for me."

The girls started at the suggestion. Lavender turned on him. "As though we'd trust you to stay with her. Do we look daft, Malfoy?"

"Do you really want me to answer that, Brown?" Draco sneered at her as Parvati came forward to back her up.

"You're in league with them. We'd never leave Ginny here alone with the likes of you." Parvati put a supportive hand on Lavender's shoulder.

He would find no support from these two. That much was clear. Padma, however, hung back.

"Fine," he said. "The three of you will go the same way that Weasley did if the Carrows catch you." Draco turned on his heel and started for the door. Then, Padma spoke up and stopped his retreat.

"He's right," she said, her voice small and timid.

"You're siding with the Slytherin?" Lavender near shouted the words, her voice incredulous.

"How could you side with him?" Parvati accused.

Padma's voice was little more than a whisper. "I'm only saying that—"

Lavender's voice reverberated off the walls as she closed the distance between them. "You clearly don't know what you're saying. You've gone daft."

Draco stepped between them, his face mere inches from that of Lavender Brown. "Well, one of you has gone daft. Think about it, Brown. Do you really believe that I risked my own neck to remove her from under the Carrows' nose and bring her here, so that I could have the pleasure of doing her in myself when you leave?"

Lavender seemed to be weighing the validity of this statement. "I'd put nothing past you," she said, but her voice lacked conviction.

The Patil twins convinced Lavender that Draco seemed to have no intent of causing Ginny harm and left Ginny in his care after threatening to hex his bits off if he did anything to harm her. He had little doubt they meant business.

Watching Ginny Weasley be _Crucio'd_ by the Carrows had effected Draco far more than made him comfortable. He still didn't know what had spurred him to set off an explosion in the hallway as a diversion giving him an opportunity to remove Ginny from the room and get her to the Room of Requirement undetected.

There was a squeak of a voice as Ginny stirred and came to. She tried to sit up, but Draco closed the space between himself and the bed with three long strides, pushing her shoulders back. "Not so fast, Weasley. Take it slow."

"Where am I?" Ginny asked, clasping her hand to her forehead, "And what the bloody hell is banging on my head?" She fell back against the pillow.

"You know, they might not have worked you over so much, if you'd have stopped getting up and fighting back." Draco looked on the side table where a bowl of water and a cloth suddenly appeared. "I assume the room thinks you need this." He dipped the cloth into the bowl, wrung out the excess water and placed it on Ginny's forehead.

"Careful, Malfoy, or you'll ruin your reputation for being a cold-hearted bastard."

"I'll trust you to keep your mouth shut then." He grinned at her and pressed the cloth more firmly to her head.

She placed her hand over his stopping his ministrations. "Why are you doing this?" Her voice was gentle and soft. Where others accused, Ginny simply inquired, and Draco found that unsettling.

He shook his head and shrugged his shoulders. "It's gone too far. It's no secret that my family is up to their eyes in this, but they never meant for it to be like this. My father has been telling me for—well, for as long as I can remember what it would be like when the Dark Lord rose again, but this was never what he expected."

"Bit off more than he could chew, eh?" she asked.

"Yes," he answered simply. A single word that held so much truth.

Ginny managed to sit up, hanging her legs over the side of the bed. "Would you mind getting me a glass of water?" she asked. "Apparently, one of the unknown side effects of the Cruciatus Curse is an incredibly parched throat," she said with a smile, her tone joking.

Draco crossed to the opposite side of the room where a pitcher and glass were waiting. "Are you always so witty?" he asked.

He turned back towards the bed, saw her try to stand. She lost her balance and wobbled. He was beside her in an instant dumping the glass of water onto her shirt in his attempt to catch her. "Are you insane?" he asked, forcing her back onto the bed and grabbing for a towel. "You're a terrible patient, you know that, right? Do not move out of this bed again. You're not dying on my watch. Is that understood?"

She gave him a lopsided grin, obviously toying with him. "Draco Malfoy, I didn't know you cared."

He leaned over her, his face inches from hers. "I don't. However, I rather like my bits, and Lavender Brown has threatened to hex them off if I let something happen to you. I happen to think the bint means business, so no dying on my watch."

"Ah, you fear Lavender's wrath, do you? She does mean what she says on most occasions."

"I have no desire to test that theory. I prefer to keep my bits as they are."

"Then for the sake of your bits, I promise not to die until you are officially off duty."

Ginny giggled, and for the first time Draco felt fairly confident she would recover fully. It was a relief, and he exhaled the breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding as he sat down on the side of the bed and pressed the cloth to her forehead once more. "My bits thank you."

She reached up and touched his face. "You're not so bad, you know."

"You're delirious."

"Perhaps," she agreed. "But you might cut me some slack. I've not exactly had the best day, you know."

It was his turn to laugh. "Fair enough."

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Something passed between them that day. It was nothing that he could put his finger on or prescribe a definition to, but it was undeniably something. At a time when tomorrow was but a bleak promise of more misery, something meant hope, and hope was in short supply. He would take it where he could find it.

~Fin.~

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A/N: Originally written for the Fanfics_express 2009 Ginny Weasley New Year's Fic Exchange on Live Journal


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